The atmosphere in South-East Nigeria on Mondays is as quiet as a graveyard. Few individuals and motorist can be seen moving. Shops, banks, businesses and a lot more daily activities of the good people of South-East Nigeria are being locked and not functioning.
But then, what really is happening, and why are the people of South-East always at home on Mondays? The answer is quite open; there is an ongoing sit at home in the region every Mondays of the week. This according to reports by the Guardian Newspaper, the is in protest of the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu by the federal government. Hence, the proscribed group – Indigenous People of Biafra, declared a sit at home every Monday in solidarity of their leader.
Another question that comes to mind is, do they people really want to be sitting at home on Mondays, or are they doing it for the security of their lives and properties? A lot of people would choose the later. This is because, the Mondays sit at home is affecting the region economically than it is gaining. According to a recent report by Vanguard Newspaper, majority of the people are lamenting huge economic loses as a result of the recurring sit at home on Mondays.
Again, the influence of this recurring sit at home is gradually turning Mondays into a public holiday in the region. This is because the people are gradually accepting the facts that there wouldn’t be any form of movement, engagement or business on Mondays. The people are slowly accepting this fact and it may affect the region’s behavioural pattern in the long run.
The fear of getting hurt if an attempt to open or move about on Mondays is another factor why a lot of people are complying with the sit at home order. It is gradually becoming a trend. People are afraid for their lives, and so, would choose to sit at home than risk moving about.
I believe that the average Igbo man wouldn’t enjoy sitting at home every Mondays. The risk of it turning into a public holiday or a day in which nothing happens in the region is heavily building up. It is on these concerns that the government needs to intervene for activities to go back to normal. If not, when the sit at home issue in the region persist, the idea of Mondays not being a working day would be buried in the minds of the good people of South-East Nigeria in the long run.
